The Exmoor Society has celebrated its 60 anniversary by announcing three winners of the 2018 Pinnacle Award.

The annual award was set up by the Society six years ago to support young entrepreneurs between 18 and 27 years who wish to live and work in Greater Exmoor. It offers £3,000 to an individual who has a business start-up or development plan.

Read More

Jackie Smith, Trustee, said: ‘This year, there were three outstanding young people and we could not decide between them. We were thrilled that the Society’s Trustees were able to extend the funding to provide £3,000 to each candidate and support their new ventures.’

“Polly Goodman is a young person who has returned to Exmoor after university and a high flying job in London because she realised that city life is not for her but that she should follow her dream. She has identified potential for a niche marketing opportunity by keeping goats in order to introduce goat meat to this part of the country. The real strength of her plan is that goats enjoy much of the less favoured, hill land of Exmoor. She has made a clear business based decision to return to Exmoor where as her flock grows she will need to work with other local businesses from vets/abattoirs/butchers/food outlets/restaurants etc.’

“Philip Stephens, as so many, has had to look for inspiration away from the family farm where his brother will take over in due course. He is already making a name for himself as a welder. Having started working with used horseshoes to make decorative, hand crafted garden furniture, he has now identified scope for manufacturing truck canopies and other bespoke accessories for farm and truck vehicles. In particular, he is moving towards working with lightweight aluminium rather than heavier metals. He is undoubtedly providing a service to the local working community with scope to improve safety for his clients. He will also shortly be in a position to take on an apprentice in the near future.’

Read More

“Camilla Waterer is another who has also returned to Exmoor after university and travelling. We consider she has the personality and drive to become a real entrepreneur in the tourism business on Exmoor. Her plan is to offer horse drawn carriage rides and picnics on the high moor in summer and to wives of guns on some of the big Exmoor shoots in winter – she will use Fell ponies as being stronger than Exmoor ponies and gained her initial ideas from examples she experienced in Scotland.”

As a conservation body, The Exmoor Society says it fully recognises the importance of providing opportunities for young people to remain on the moor when they enter the world of work. Rachel Thomas, Chairman, added: ‘The Society wants to show that beautiful landscapes and livelihoods can go together by supporting the younger generation, the very essence of keeping Exmoor alive as a national park. We are very excited that three such outstanding candidates received the Pinnacle Award in our 60 anniversary year.’

The Society hopes to attract many similar entries for the award in 2019 which has a closing date of June 30 2019. Application forms are available from The Exmoor Society’s office in Dulverton, telephone 01398 323335 and on its website: www.exmoorsociety.com .